[Congenital abnormalities of the temporal bone. Clinical picture and therapeutic indications]

The embryology of the ear and the different congenital anomalies depending on the arrest in development at a particular embryologic date are reviewed. The historical and the actual attitude towards surgical correction is discussed. The classification system, the evaluation and patients selection, the timing of auricular reconstruction and atresiaplasty, the preoperative evaluation, the patient and parents counselling, the surgical technique, the complications and alternative techniques are discussed.